Order now for Christmas delivery !

By Unknown |

Sunday, December 15, 2013

0 comments

Our Christmas martingale collars have been pretty popular this festive season, so we thought to remind everyone that there is still time to place orders, to be delivered before Christmas.

We have many designs (in both 1inch and 1.5inch width), please head over to our shop at Nightrave website to see the full selection and place an order.

Cute Mila (Bronze For Macos) in her new "Santas Snowman" martingale collar. This design is one of the bestselling ones.

Update on our foster greyhound Ike (Bound By Pride)

By Fatima |

Friday, October 18, 2013

0 comments

Ike (now Shadow) and his new Mum Helen :)

We have posted a few updates on our gorgeous foster greyhound Ike (Bound By Pride) on our Nightrave Facebook page already, so this is just a summary for the blog :)

We have advertised Ike up for adoption in our local dog club and also on Trademe, and we had so many applications from people who wanted to adopt the gorgeous boy :)
We have gone through all of them and in the end chose Helen, who lives in Palmerston North and whom we have known for a few years now. Helen met Ike and they clicked straight away - Helen was committed to training Ike aswell, she has already joined our dog club where Ike has been having some lovely times attending obedience classes with his new Mum! :)
Oh and Ike has been renamed 'Shadow' -a name he seems to like a lot! :)

We at Nightrave believe that training retired greyhounds (and all dogs in general) in obedience, CGC and other disciplines is the key to happy dogs and happy owners ; this has, needless to say, been proven overseas over and over. We are looking forward to seeing Shadow and him Mum have loads of fun and lots of success in training :)
Keep and eye out on our Facebook page and this blog for updates on Shadow's new life :)

Toby The Lure and Shadow with Rachel

Beautiful Ike is looking for that perfect retirement home - could it be with you? :)

By Fatima |

Friday, September 20, 2013

2 comments

Isn't he just gorgeous? This is Ike (Bound By Pride), a recently retired sprinter who is now looking for a retirement home.
Ike is being homed by his trainer, who has asked us to help find a good, responsible and loving home for this special boy - so Ike has been spending some time with our pack in Feilding, getting used to living in the house, attending Canine Good Citizen classes in our local Dog Club, and generally having fun. He loves his bed, his walks, and interacting with other dogs of all breeds.

Ike has been a pleasure having stay with us, he is very cute, very well behaved, and a very loving, soft doggie. He has learned so many things while with us, and is very keen to please. He is one of those dogs who watches your every move, in case you  call him over to you. :) He walks beautifully on the lead and loves  his walkies :) When he gets back home, he flops in his bed and cockroaches for hours :)
Needless to say - Ike is very good looking, with lovely coloring (he looks like a Dalmatian cross!) and gorgeous brown eyes. He is about 33kg, neutered male, 4 years old.

Ike is looking for a home with someone who will want to possibly continue with his Canine Good Citizen or similar obedience classes, as he really enjoys them and is very trainable and clever. Ike is very keen to learn as well as very motivated by treats and praise :) 
He is not too bothered by little kids - in fact I suspect he is a bit wary of them, so ideal home will have some teenagers or just adults.
We expect that Ike will be trainable to live with cats, but he will need to be trained by his new owners in this regard. If you have a cat and want to give Ike a home, you will have to be committed to working with him in the settling in period to teach him that cats are friends -- not something to chase and not something to be afraid of. We are more than happy to give training advice to new owners.
Ike is perfectly fine being left alone at home, so he is suitable for busy people who go to work etc.

We thought to see whether any of our Nightrave friends would be interested in Ike - but of course his trainer will consider any good and responsible home for him.  We will be more than happy to help with settling in, advice , training or whatever else new owners might need.

Ike will go to his new home health checked, desexed, microchipped, vaccinated and registered. He has also had his teeth cleaned and polished (full dental) this week.
Ike will also come with a complimentary Nightrave designer collar and lead, of course :)

If you would like to know more about Ike, please contact us on nightravegreys@gmail.com, or call Fatima on 0274 526723. We are more than happy to arrange for you (and your pack if you have one) to meet Ike :)

Ike's racing history is here:
http://www.thedogs.co.nz/greyhounds/profiles.aspx?AnimalID=22098

And of course, some more photos of the pretty boy (you can click on photos to see full size)
:

Cute Ike, with his roman nose and loads of freckles :)

With his mates Chevy and Louie

.

Happy Ike having a run in our dog club :)

 

Below is Ike and his friends as Canine Good Citizen class in Feilding (sorry, pictures are awful as they were taken in the dark):

.

 

Our beautiful Yellow (Gold For Thys) passes his CGC Foundations exam today !

By Fatima |

Sunday, September 15, 2013

comments

Rachel and Yellow (Gold For Thys)

Our beautiful Yellow (Gold For Thys) had a great day at Horowhenua Dog Show today: he passed his Canine Good Citizen Foundations exam (CGC), on the first try, making him the fifth member of Nightrave pack to pass this exam on the first try! Number six Chevy (Cheverton) is still training for this exam :)

We are very proud of Yellow - he is a great example and great ambassador for retired racers. We did expect him to do well in this exam as he is already working at the Silver CGC level , however you never know what might happen on the day. Yellow will sit his Bronze CGC exam in October, so watch this space!
Not too bad for a greyhound who failed GAP (Greyhounds As Pets NZ ) 'temperament test'. Quotation marks are there by design -this is a dog who passes CGC on the FIRST try, who is an amazing pet and amazing obedience dog, yet he was on a death row in GAP NZ  - a greyhound retirement programme. Sad but true.
We were able to rescue Yellow from GAP's ridiculous verdict due to our friends inside GAP -we would like to thank them from the bottom of our hearts, althought we cannot name them here for obvious reasons. Yellow will continue to do great things for his breed -and we are so fortunate to have been able to adopt him. If he was  euthanized by GAP - retired racers would have lost a lot of positive exposure and good press. Yellow is well known in most dog clubs in Lower North Island and we know for sure that a number of people have decided to look into adopting a retired racer after meeting our beautiful Yellow. And that in itself is precious.
We do hope that GAP will learn something from this, and we encourage them to follow Yellow's superb obedience career. They owe that to the dogs they claim to love.

Yellow taking his exam :)

(To find out more details about this course and exam, as well to see the list of clubs offering it, please go to NZ Kennel Club website: http://www.nzkc.org.nz/goodcitizen.html )

Our friend Rebecca was there with her two greyhounds, Blondie and Lola, and they both passed the exam too - congratulations girls, from all of us at Nightrave ! Below is the picture of Rachel and Rebecca with three greyhounds who took part in the today's show:

Cate from Marshall Images was there today day taking pictures of greyhounds at this event - thank you so much Cate! We hear that next issue of "NZ Dog World" magazine will feature Cate's photographs of greyhounds doing their CGC exams - this is great news and so amazing for the breed promotion!

Here are some more of her gorgeous photos:

Yellow's recall test :)



Another one of Rachel and Rebecca with Lola, Blondie and Yellow , who was too tired to sit at this stage  :)

Yellow at his tied stay part of test (dog is tied up and is expected to stay calm and wait for his handler;
dog is not allowed to bark, strain the lead, jump, or become in any way distressed)
.
 

Blondie (Fancy Kate) had a rest on top of her Dad Tristan!
.

Yellow used every spare second to do some posing :)



Update on our gorgeous racing girl Hannah (All The Milk)

By Fatima |

Monday, August 26, 2013

0 comments

Cute Hannah (All The Milk)

So many of you who are not on Facebook often ask me about how our racing girls are doing. While we have many updates on them on our Facebook page , I somehow always run out of time to post a bit here on the blog.  :(
Little Hannah (All The Milk) is having the best time at Wanganui track - she has had a few starts there with overall awesome results! A few times she was unlucky and got checked or could not find racing room in  time, but her luck has been improving! She won her maiden race on 24th July there -  it was amazing! I don't think we have ever screamed that much -and I have to admit that lots of Moet was drunk that Wednesday lunchtime! There were a few happy tears too :)
Here is the photo finish:

Hannah winning! :) (you can click on the photo to see full size)

And even better -you can see the video of the race at the link below (Hannah is in the white and green striped rug ; the video should start at 1:24min -this is the time of her race):
http://youtu.be/AAaKeIJ9Sck?t=1m24s

Hannah also had the most AMAZING run for a second place on August the 14th - she did incredibly  well, happy little doggie coming from the back and pushing to the second place! We were so impressed , and so happy for this young dog, doing what she loves and having the best time. The video of this race is truly a must see (Hannah is in white rug number 3 in this race; this video should start at 10:35minutes):
http://youtu.be/gfTXdKDgazQ?t=10m35s

And last week - this happy little girl has had her first middle distance race (520meters) and she came third!!! It is an amazing result for a dog who has not had any experience racing over this distance (all her previous starts were sprints, over 305meters).
But whatever the distance she is racing on - Hannah is always smiling :

I just wish that all the dogs, of all breeds, had a chance to do what they love, to have a job and enjoy it, like this beautiful girl and her parents did. That is the biggest wish of mine - although somewhat farfetched, I know. :) But we are allowed to dream ...
We are very excited about Hannah's career (she is really still a puppy, she is turning 2yrs old at the end of October) and we look forward seeing her running for a long time to come. And we promise we will keep you posted, both on our Facebook page and on our blog.

PS: Hannah's sister Stella (All The Coco)  has not really started racing yet -she is chilling out in a greyhound paddock in Rangiora, as her trainer would like her to mature a bit more before starting racing. It is a bit too far to visit but we heard she is having a great time :)

Here is a picture of lovely Stella:
 

Ribbons all round at RallyO in Feilding

By Fatima |

Thursday, August 8, 2013

0 comments

.
The Nightrave Pack spent last weekend at the NZARO (NZ Association of Rally Obedience) Expo at Feilding - and they did so well!!

In the photo below is only part of the haul of ribbons and certificates: Lucy The Ferret, Toby The Bichon Friese  (Nightrave Lure) and Yellow (Gold For Thys):

Chilling out after coming home :)

Misha (Bodhran Cailin) and Chevy (Cheverton) also competed, with great results.

Shoutout also goes to our friend Rebecca Conole who had awesome results with her greyhounds Blondie (Fancy Kate), Priceless (Fancy Freda) and Lola (Kinetic Flyer). Rebecca also took these lovely photos of Rachel, Lucy and Yellow (thanks a million Rebecca!):

Rachel and Yellow, who had a perfect run again :)
.

Lucy and Rachel at agility course. The Ferret is getting more and more into agility :)

 

Postcards from Edwina and Robert :)

By Fatima |

Monday, July 1, 2013

0 comments

Beautiful Edwina posing :)

We have two greyhounds currently staying at our Nightrave Homestays : gorgeous 9 year old Edwina and her brother Robert (Impulse Buyer) from Wellington. They have been with us for a few weeks now, while their parents are on holiday overseas.

Robbie and Eddie are a pleasure to have stay with us  - they have fitted in great into our pack,  and are enjoying their stay here . As we wrote before on this blog, they have even gone to a dog show competition last weekend and won ribbons! :)

We took some photos of them yesterday:

Handsome Robbie (Impulse Buyer)

In this garden, you can always find toys
 

Robbie has a lovely Roman nose :)

.

Edwina loves her bed in front of the fire :)

Results from NZRO Rally dog competions in Feilding today :)

By Fatima |

Saturday, June 22, 2013

0 comments

Certificates and ribbons haul :)

The Nightrave Pack (including our two homestay greyhounds!) took part in the NZARO (NZ Association of Rally Obedience) dog show today at the Feilding dog club. There were 9 greyhounds at this show in rainy Feilding today - our pack plus Rebecca Conole and the beautiful Blondie (Fancy Kate)!

Above is the collection of ribbons and certificates won by the Nightrave dogs.

Our homestay boy Robert (Impulse Buyer) only had a few Rally lessons since he arrived here last week. Today, he took part in the Rally Zoom competition and he won second place!

Rally-O Zoom is a great class, judged on how well the dog and handler can walk around a course of cones and signs marking direction changes. To get the most points, you must not pull the dog's lead, and should negotiate all the obstacles in the right order, at a steady pace. Dear Robert, Bob the Dog, did what he does best, and walked along with Emma like a champion!!

Robert (Impulse Buyer) with his ribbon and certificate :)

Edwina had a go too, but couldn't quite beat Robbie! She came third :)

Edwina walking the course with Rachel. As it was cold and wet, she wore a Winnie The Pooh puffa coat :)

Edwina on the course :)

...and later at home, with her certificate :)

It was also Chevy's first Rally competition, and he won! Such a huge step for him -- he's had so many challenges, and he's really learning to cope incredibly well.

Meanwhile, neither Lucy nor Louie liked the weather conditions. Louie sneaked in with a Gold certificate in his Zoom competition (at Novice, the next level up from Chevy, Rob and Eddie's success), while Lucy was able to negotiate several obstacles she's never done before in Handy Dog Advanced. She successfully completed the weave poles (only one training session ever!) and also managed a 360 pivot, in which she had to place her front feet on a box, and circle her back feet all the way around!

She just hated the muddy ground, though, so she scratched from Standard Rally, which is usually her forte. Cobby, too, felt the only place for a greyhound on such a day was on the couch by the fire, and had to be content with a Merit certificate.

Misha didn't believe in sitting in the wet, but when it came to Zoom, turned in an outstanding performance to take out second place in the Novice.

Yellow, on the other hand, was completely unfazed by the rainy, muddy conditions. He just loves mud and water! He completed his Standard Rally course for a perfect score of 100, winning the class, and also qualified in Rally Zoom, beating Louie!

Yellow (Gold For Thys) and Rachel during their perfect 100/100 run :)

Postcards from our homestay greyhound Mila (Bronze For Macos)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

0 comments

Mila with her new favourite toy, the fluffy squirrel :)
 She found this toy somewhere in the house and fell in love with it :)

Cute Mila (Bronze For Macos) is staying with us for a few weeks, while her family are on the holiday overseas.
I thought to post some pictures of her here, so that her parents can see how their clever girl is doing :)

Mila is an old friend: she used to be our foster greyhound, right after she retired in August 2010. She stayed with us for around two months then, before she went to live with Rachael and Michael in Wellington. We have always kept in touch  ; it is always lovely to have our ex-foster greyhounds come to stay with us! Mila certainly remembered our house, and the garden, and the routine -she fitted in like she never left :)
Mila has always been very dog-social and has made friends with everybody immediately- her new best friend is our Misha (Bodhran Cailin). It was friendship at first sight -these two girls are very similar, and click great:


Mila and Misha running at our local dog club :)

Mila , like all our homestay greyhounds, attends Rally O and CGC classes at our local Dog Club in Feilding, and she really enjoys them. When classes are not on, Mila loves running in our dog club, together with her friends from our pack::

Mila with her half-brother Yellow (Gold For Thys)
.

Off we go!

Misha and Mila having a short break with Emma :)

With a new friend :)

And after the run - the best way to relax is in front of the fire with her bestie Misha!